Sunday, October 13

Tag: ZOO Southside

James Whale: Beyond Frankenstein – Zoo Southside
Scotland

James Whale: Beyond Frankenstein – Zoo Southside

James Whale is remembered today - if he is remembered at all in the mainstream - as the director of the two best classic Universal Frankenstein films Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), as well as The Invisible Man (1933) and, if we're feeling really fancy, The Old Dark House (1933). However, these were only part of a much longer career, one which saw a small-town English boy become a major Hollywood director in a time in which his homosexuality was illegal and his themes increasingly scrutinised under the Hayes Code. Written and performed by Tim Larkfield, this one-man show eschews the straightforward approach of having Whale be that one man, telling his own life story, in favour of a series of snapshots from the perspectives of a collection of professional and pe...
Johnny Got His Gun – ZOO Southside
Scotland

Johnny Got His Gun – ZOO Southside

This timely monologue highlights the brutality of war through the story of one soldier. It exposes the dissonance between ideals like freedom and democracy, and the means we use to enforce them. The first world war is raging. Joe Bonham (Johannes Holopainen) lies on a hospital bed, his face covered with bandages, his body hidden by a bedsheet. He taps his head on a guitar. Gradually, we understand that he is communicating in Morse code. Joe has a story to tell. Joe pulls up his bandages to create a bandana, and suddenly is animated and moves freely and fiercely within the black box space, which represents his vibrant imagination. He uses his guitar as well as his voice and movement to express himself and interacts directly with members of the audience. In contrast, the set is star...